Candidates for several local races in the Nov. 4 election were grilled Sunday afternoon by citizens at The Gathering Place in a forum hosted by the Senior Adult Council of Peachtree City.

Each candidate also got the opportunity to present a brief amount of information for five minutes.

Board of Education Post 1

Incumbent Janet Smola and write-in challenger Nicole File participated in the forum.

Smola said Fayette County is in the top 16 percent of school districts nationwide, and 98 percent of Fayette County children graduate high school, but she’s concerned about children with special needs not being served well. Special needs students can stay in school until they are 22 but the state of Georgia might hand them an “incomplete” diploma for their work, she said.

Smola said that the new Rivers Elementary school currently being built “will empty 14 trailers at Burch Elementary” and relieve overcrowding at four other elementary schools.

“We will have achieved our goal of balancing population while leaving 85 percent for future growth,” Smola said.

File charged that the current school board has “mismanaged ... the great amount of money they get,” and should have repurposed $24 million in bond money instead of building Rivers and the recently-opened Inman Elementary School.

“I want to know what’s going on at the school board and what are our priorities by building schools in the middle of nowhere,” File said.

As for the proposed Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, File said the proposal “fell from the sky” and was “politically convenient” for incumbent school board members because it wasn’t voted on until after the July primary election.

Smola said the school board had been discussing an ESPLOST for the past two and a half years, “but you weren’t at any of those meetings, Nicole, so you don’t know how many of those meetings occurred.”

“The reason the SPLOST came up after the primary was because on Aug. 4 the governor delivered another 2.5 percent in cuts to quality education,” Smola said, noting that the cuts came after the school system adopted its budget. Since then the system is bracing for another $3 million in additional cuts, she said.

“I don’t care how you do the math we need to find more revenue or rethink our programs,” Smola said. “We cut 65 positions just this year through attrition, so to say this popped up out of nowhere is irresponsible.”

Smola said she believed the funding decision on the sales tax should be left up to voters and not up to her.

File said when it comes to school vouchers she would support the system’s current position, but she’s willing to “have some dialog” on the issue.

File said she was also concerned about how the system was helping students who won’t be going to college, particularly in terms of providing vocational training.

Smola was questioned about the recent revelation that some McIntosh High School cheerleaders were drunk while performing at a recent game.

Smola said the drinking didn’t take place on school grounds, and that, for instance, the school system can’t police nearby cart paths.

She added that in her first year in office the school system brought drug dogs onto school property to sniff lockers. The result was cutting down the number of students who brought drugs to school in their lockers, she said.

“Those cheerleaders are tossing each other up in the air,” Smola said. “The thought of what could’ve happened with that impairment is frightening.”

File responded to a citizen who complained about not getting information from the school system.

“Yes I am a big proponent of open government,” File said. “It’s a travesty we don’t honor our open records requests.”

State Sen. District 16

In this race, incumbent Ronnie Chance, R-Tyrone, faces challenger Jerry Brillant, a Democrat.

Chance has his own public relations firm and served this past legislative session as a floor leader for Gov. Sonny Perdue, meaning he introduced legislation on behalf of the governor. He said the main issue facing the legislature this year will be the budget, with education, transportation and public safety among the state’s top priorities.

Brillant, a 29-year employee of Delta Airlines, said he wants change and real reforms in government, particularly in education, citing a 74 percent graduation rate in Georgia.

Brillant said one of the main reasons he decided to run was due to the school voucher situation which nearly featured a provision that would have allowed Clayton County students to attend Fayette County Schools because of Clayton’s subsequent loss of accreditation.

Responding to a citizen question later on the matter, Chance explained that the problem with the bill was an amendment that was added by State Sen. Valencia Seay of Riverdale without a vote of the Senate.

Ultimately, the bill was killed, Chance said, adding that state Rep. Matt Ramsey worked with him to defeat the bill.

Chance said the bill never mandated school systems to accept students from out of county. But after discussing the matter with School Superintendent Dr. John DeCotis and local school board members, Chance learned the problem could be based on the language in the bill citing that students from unaccredited schools could be accepted “pending space availability.”

The initial thinking was the bill was written so school systems would have leeway to decline students from unaccredited districts, Chance said. The bill died when it was “moved on through” by the lieutenant governor, Chance noted.

“It was never voted on. It just disappeared,” Chance said.

Chance noted that Fayette can accept students from other counties via a contract between the student, the parent and the school system.

Chance added that the author of the controversial amendment, Sen. Seay, is one of Brillant’s largest campaign contributors.

Brillant asked what cuts he would like to see to insure education funds are available. He suggested a horse park program and another program to encourage fishing as examples.

“The 26 percent of people who do not graduate, where do they go,” Brillant asked. “Are they providing a service to the community, are they valuable? A lot of them fall into drugs and crime.”

Brillant said he was also in favor of tax cuts and term limits “to open the door for some exciting and talented individuals to come in and make change happen.”

Brillant said he was “tired of career politicians” controlling government. Chance later said that with legislators paid $16,000 a year, legislating is not a career, but the system instead allows citizens to serve in the legislature while also maintaining a regular job.

ESPLOST

A group of citizens also made a presentation in support of the proposed Educational SPLOST.

Tracy Goodman said that the SPLOST is needed to avoid cutting a number of positions including paraprofessionals in elementary schools. The state only pays for one paraprofessional for every two kindergarten classes, and not at all for first grade parapros, she noted.

In previous years the state funded 62 to 63 percent of the local schools budget, but that has dipped to 48 percent this year recently, Goodman said.

“Guess who’s making up that difference,” she asked.

Goodman said an estimated 40 percent of SPLOST revenues would come from out of county shoppers. Neil Sullivan, a financial planner, noted that Fayette uses a salary supplement to attract teachers, and “We have the best teachers and we have the best results.”

Sullivan said 38 percent of the ESPLOST revenue was going to technology such as upgrading networks and classrooms. The system is also planning school renovations and the addition of electronic doors that can be locked instantly in case a dangerous situation occurs on or near campus, he said.

Sullivan also noted that the school system spent $20,000 last year to investigate illegal students, which resulted in nearly 400 students being withdrawn.

Sullivan was asked how the group arrived at its figure that 40 percent of the tax would come from out-of-county residents. He explained it started with a breakdown of the average Fayette resident’s median income and taking 33 percent of it as an estimate of what the household would spend on a sales tax. They also extrapolated figures that the total sales tax would reap about $20 million a year.

But he admitted that the actual percentage could fluctuate from perhaps as little as 20 percent to as much as 50 percent of the tax being paid by out-of-county visitors.

One resident at the forum said the system should cut positions at the county office. Of the 61 positions cut by the school system this year, nine have been at the county office, school officials have said.

Peachtree City recreation bond

Rick Halbert represented a group of citizens who want voters to approve the issuance of $9.9 million in bonds to construct a facility with a large ice rink, a smaller ice rink and a fitness center.

The facility would have a positive economic impact in hotels, restaurants and shops by hosting tournaments, Halbert said.

The ultimate goal is to make the facility a community center, as the ice can be covered so the large rink can be used for events hosting up to 1,200 people, Halbert said.

“The big rink could be used for graduations, parties and events,” Halbert said.

Halbert was asked what would happen to the building if for some reason the businesses leasing the ice rink and the fitness center backed out of their lease. He replied that because the site is adjacent to the SANY Corporation industrial site, it could also be used as an industrial building if necessary.

Halbert acknowledged with the current economy it’s hard to ask voters to approve the proposal. His employer, Group VI, is a contractor, Halbert said, noting that there’s no assurance that Group VI would be selected for the project.

The initiative started with a number of residents who wanted to build a nice amenity for Peachtree City, he said.

Halbert was asked if the entire operation shouldn’t be funded privately instead of with public funds.

He replied that by making it a public-private partnership, more functions can be hosted at the building, which would make it an amenity.

The city has interested parties including Center Ice, Inc. and Better Bodies Fitness which want to lease the facility.

Projections for the facilities show the city would get $436,000 in annual rent but would still have to pay an additional $505,000 a year toward the annual debt service. Both the ice center and fitness center would be signing long-term leases in that regard, representatives have said.

The bond money would only pay for construction of the building and not any of the proposed operating costs. The bonds would be financed over 20 years with estimated annual payments of $941,000.

Fayette County Magistrate, Post 3

Both incumbent Bob Ruppenthal and challenger Sheila Huddleston participated in the forum.

Ruppenthal explained that magistrates issue all search and arrest warrants in the county and as such are on duty 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. In addition to holding bond hearings for criminal cases, the magistrates also hear small claims cases with values of up to $15,000 in dispute.

And because he’s an attorney, Ruppenthal said he is allowed to hold temporary protective order hearings for domestic violence cases, which he feels is an asset to Fayette County.

Huddleston owns a legal business and said she thinks young people who enter the legal system “need more guidance than they’re getting right now.”

All magistrate candidates were asked how they will work to make sure a tragedy doesn’t occur similar to the Kathryn Johnston situation in Atlanta where police officers lied on drug search warrants that ultimately led to Johnson’s death even though she had no drugs at her home.

Ruppenthal said the magistrates take all arrest and search warrants seriously, and the type of case and its location are crucial.

“If an officer is providing us false information hopefully we will be able to decipher that,” Ruppenthal said. “... The first part is to have really good honest law enforcement officers.”

Ruppenthal said such no-knock warrants, in which police are allowed to break into a location unannounced to keep drugs from being disposed of by being flushed down toilets, or also in cases where a suspect “has a history of violence or weapons.”

“Search warrants are a big deal and we take it seriously,” Ruppenthal said.

Huddleston said she won’t sign off on a no-knock warrant unless there are “exigent circumstances.”

“I’d make sure, number one, that there is reliable information and, number two, that you know what you’re talking about and, number three, that I’m the person ultimately held accountable for signing that warrant,” Huddleston said.

Fayette County Magistrate, Post 4

Incumbent James A. White and challenger Jason Thompson participated in the forum.

Thompson, an attorney with the Webb, Lindsey and Wade law firm, said he chose to run against White because he is the most senior judge on the court.

Thompson said he wants to “update” the magistrate court, saying one way was to change the court’s website. But White noted that the Fayette County Clerk of Court is responsible for the magistrate court’s web presence and not the magistrate court itself.

Thompson said he has participated as an attorney in all aspects of the criminal courtroom including some work as a prosecutor for the town of Tyrone.

White said criminal attorney experience is unnecessary for the position because magistrates only set bonds and have preliminary hearings but have no criminal trials.

“We do not have a proof of guilty in preliminary hearings,” White said. “All you need is probable cause, thus we do not need experience as a criminal attorney.”

White said in setting bonds the magistrate should look at the person’s record, consider what they might continue to do if let out on bond, and whether or not they will return to court.

Thompson said he thought the arrest warrant provision was the most important aspect of a magistrate’s job. Part of that is to insure there are no problems with the case later on that might result in the case being dismissed.

Thompson said one way to prevent problems down the road is by slowing down investigations and making sure there’s surveillance of the area “to make sure no one’s leaving and there’s no guns there.”

As to no-knock warrants, White said he won’t approve them if children are present when the warrant is issued because of the trauma inflicted upon them by having police burst into their home unannounced.

“If there are any children, they’re going to have to go to extra steps to get that no-knock,” White said.

White said he has been a judge for 31 years, starting back when Fayette had a separate small claims court.

White added that in the small claims civil cases, he has made some attorneys mad by offering plaintiffs and defendants the opportunity to continue cases in which their opponent has retained an attorney while they have not.

“That makes lawyers mad because they know they have the training and they can take advantage of the person who does not have an attorney,” White said.

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